Yorkshire private equity investor team completes transactions worth over £100m

The Yorkshire team of leading private equity investor LDC has reiterated its commitment to the region’s medium-sized businesses by completing five transactions over a three-month period, with a combined enterprise value of more than £100m.

The Leeds-based team, led by LDC Partner and Head of Yorkshire Dan Smith, made a significant investment in Boston Energy, a Beverley-headquartered technical services provider to the wind energy industry, in July 2023. The investment is helping the business to grow in all of its core markets globally to support the transition to a clean energy economy.

Later the same month, the team completed a minority investment in Sheffield-based UniHomes to help accelerate the student accommodation advertising platform’s regional growth ambitions and further develop its service for both student and letting agent customers.

Evidencing the breadth of the team’s sector experience, LDC also supported acquisitions made by three of its Yorkshire portfolio companies. This included BCIS’ acquisition of Griffiths & Hutchins Publications to expand its offering to the built environment industry; Express Engineering’s acquisition of QA Weld Tech, which saw it grow headcount by 20 per cent to more than 230; and York-based Elovate’s investment in CFP.

The flurry of transactions followed LDC’s investment to grow the Yorkshire team, with Investment Directors Will Scales and James Marshall, Investment Managers Anthony West and Ana-Maria Garaba, and Investment Origination Sophie Isaacs joining over the last two years.

Dan Smith, partner and head of Yorkshire at LDC, said: “Our activity shows that, despite an uncertain economic backdrop, ambition among business leaders here in Yorkshire remains as strong as ever. Whether through investing in new product development, technology or sustainability, by exploring new markets or targeting international expansion, businesses across the region are still pushing for growth.

“These transactions are also testament to the strength of our growing team here in Yorkshire. We are committed to investing in our people and have more than doubled the team in the last two years, to allow us to expand the support we provide to management teams.”

The team has also been busy supporting local causes in the community, including its partnerships with Leeds-based cancer support charity Maggie’s Yorkshire and Candlelighters, which helps families facing children’s cancer across the region, and most recently, a new two year funding programme for Mackie Hill Primary School to enable all children to have access to a free breakfast from the Greggs Foundation Breakfast Club.

Nationally, the team is also closely involved in supporting LDC’s partnership with The Prince’s Trust, the UK’s leading youth charity, for which LDC was recently named its Partner of the Year in recognition of its commitment to helping 18-to-30-year-olds turn their business ideas into reality.

By Mark Adair – Correspondent, Bdaily

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